Pick mechanism for knitting machines



Oct. 4, 1955 E, 81'. PIERRE ET AL 2,719,417

PICK MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 31, 1954 INVE/vmkw- 0 ,54 .52 EH85 9655/ 5 Mwzavzrt Oct. 4, 1955 Filed Aug. 51, 1954 E. ST. PIERRE ET AL PICK MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES 2 SheetsSheet 2 [NVf/Il Tom; 51am: 5r. PIERRE J'ossPH MIWZUNECK United States Patent PICK MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Eugene St. Pierre, Pawtucket, and Joseph Wawzonek, Cumberland, R. 1., assignors to Hemphill Company, Pawtucket, R. 1., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 31, 1954, Serial No. 453,216 3 Claims. (Cl. 6648) Needle picking is customarily employed in circular,

independent needle, knitting machines, to increase or decrease the number of needles. knitting in successive courses, and thereby widen or narrow the fabric during the formation of heel and toe pockets. Another use for needle picking mechanisms is in the production of solid color pattern hosiery wherein tapering pattern areas are knit as independent units with different yarns. The picks widen or narrow the fabric in order to produce the tapering patterns. Hitherto, this type of knitting, as far as fully automatic machines are concerned, has been limited. to patterns of the diamond type wherein the pattern areas widen and narrow symmetrically away from, and toward, a center line.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a needle picking mechanism which permits greater patterning possibilities, and one which is more reliable and versatile in operation than those of the prior art.

The objective is accomplished with needle picks which are selectively operable from separate control centers of the machine, and independently of each other. The picks are further provided with a shank bearing which makes their operation smoother and more dependable.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top view of a needle picking mechanism;

Figure 2 is a front view of the same mechanism;

Figure 3 is a side view of a needle pick;

Figure 4 is a front end view of the same pick;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the pick operating mechanism;

Figure 6 is a side view of part of the pick operating mechanism of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic presentation of the patterned portion of a stocking knit with the aid of the mechanism of the other figures; and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a part of the lever mechanism for operating the picks.

In Figure 1, two needle picks 1 and 2 are shown as movable between full line needle picking positions and dotted line inoperative positions. These picks have a front end 4 and a tail end 5, and are centrally pivoted for universal movement. The front ends 4 are notched so as to permit them to engage needle butts 6. Levers 7 and 8 are adapted to engage the tail ends 5 and move the picks from their needle engaging positions (full line, Figs. 1, 3, 4), in which they are normally held by springs 9, to inoperative (dotted line) positions and hold them there. The tails 5 extend a sufficient distance from the central pivot, and have enough mass, to offset the shock of needle impact and give the picks more stability in operation.

The picks 1 and 2 are mounted in brackets 10 which are carried by a supporting post 11 rising from the cir- 2,719,411 Patented Oct.4, 1955 cular base 12 of the machine. special shape which is best shown at the right hand side of Figure 2. This shape enables them to serve also as supports for pivot members 13 and guard members 14. The pivots 13 are rounded at their ends and journaled into the brackets 10 to provide for rotation about a horizontal axis. The central area of the pivots 13 is flat so as to permit the shanks of the picks, which are also flat, to be mounted thereupon, A shim 15 may be inserted between the picks and the pivots to provide a broader supporting surface for the pick than the diameter of the pivot 13.

The picks 1 and 2 are secured to the pivots 13- by screws 16 which are threaded into the pivots. The screws 16 constitute a bearing where they pass through the picks and provide for motion of the picks about a vertical axis. The combination of horizontal and vertical pivots pr0- vides a universal mounting for the picks which makes them movable in any direction. The direction of their motion is controlled, however, by the guards 14, which are secured by screws 17 to the brackets ltl.

Brackets 10 also serve as a support for arms 18 providing an anchor point for springs 9 which, normally, pull the picks into needle engaging position.

The function of the picks is to engage the first needle, or first two needles, of a group and either raise or lower that needle or needles. The picks shown in the drawings are designed to lower the first two needles of each group which passes the needle picking stations when they are in needle picking position. For this purpose, the notch 4 at the front end of the pick is made wide enough to engage the butts of two needles.

The force of impact of the needles causes the picks to pivot away from the direction of impact; and guard 14 directs this pivoting downwards from the full line to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4. This angle of downward motion, especially when a great deal of mechanism is crowded around the needle bearing cylinder, must be very steep because of the shortageof space. In order to enable the pick to travel the steep angle required in a dependable manner, the shanks of the picks have been equipped with anti-friction bearings 19 to engage the guards 14. This prevents jamming and breakage of needles and picks. Ball bearings are shown in the drawing, but other types of antifriction bearings or devices may be used.

The picks shown are widening picks, i. e. they move needles from an inactive group to a knitting group. Pick 1 is designated as the rear widening pick and is designed to engage the first two needles of a group rotating in clockwise direction. Pick 2 is designated as the front widening pick. It is designed to engage the first two needles of a group rotating in counter-clockwise direction, A similar set of picks on the other side of the machine raise the needles from knitting to inactive position and are designated as narrowing picks.

During the knitting of a heel or toe, or the different diamond pattern areas of the fabric of Figure 7, while the pattern area is widening, the widening picks bring two needles from inactive to knitting position on each knitting stroke; and the narrowing picks raise one needle from the knitting position to the inactive position. The net result is a widening, one needle at a time in each course of knitting. This particular method of selecting needles is well known in the art and is employed in the knitting of heel and toe pockets, instead of simply adding one needle per course with the widening picks alone, to eliminate eyelets and provide a better suture along the outline of the pattern area.

Hitherto, both of the widening picks, and likewise both of the narrowing picks, have been moved into and out of operation by a single control mechanism. This has meant The brackets 10 have a.

that widening or narrowing has progressed equally in both directions from a center line. Such an arrangement has been perfectly adequate for heel and toe pockets and for diamond-type patterns which widen (or narrow) in both directions symmetrically. It, however, can not produce the unbalanced wedge type patterns shown in the fabric of Figure 7. These patterns are produced by widening along only one side of the pattern and narrowing along the other side.

The mechanism shown in Figures 5-8 makes it possible to put either a front or back pick into operation without its companion; and, thereby, widen (or narrow) in one direction of knitting without doing the same in the other direction, to produce the unbalanced patterns desired.

As explained above, springs 9 normally pull the picks into needle engaging position, and levers 7 and 8 engage their tail ends 5 to pivot them to the inoperative dotted line position shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4.

The levers 7 and 8 are operated by rods 21 and 22 through bellcranks 23 and 24, respectively. The rods, in turn, are operated during the patterning of the leg by rockers 25 and 26, and pins 27 on a pattern drum 28.

The construction of the pick operating rockers 25 and 26 is best shown in the side view of Figure 8. They are moved by presence or absence of pins 27 on the drum 28, and have their fulcrum at one end on a shaft 29. At their other end, pins 30 and 31 engage slots in intermediate levers 32 and 33. Levers 32 and 33 in turn pivot on a shaft 34 and engage levers 35 and 36 which turn rods 37 and 38 (see Fig. 5). Rods 37 and 38 are carried across the back of the machine through bearings held by brackets 39 and 40 secured to the machine frame 41.

At the other side of the machine, levers 42 and 43 are secured to the ends of rods 37 and 38, and are connected to the pick operating rods 21 and 22 by rods 44 and 45, and extensions 46 and 47 of rocker levers 48 and 49. These rocker levers 48 and 49 are centrally pivoted on a shaft 50 supported by a bracket rising from the oilpan 51. They have, at their front end, cam following noses 52 and 53 in engagement with cam rows 54 and 55 on the main drum 56.

This arrangement of rods and levers enables the widening picks 1 and 2 to be operated independently of each other by either the pins 27 on the pattern drum 28 or the cams 54, 55 on the main drum 56. The pattern drum is used to control the various patterns while the leg of the stocking is being knit; and the main drum is used for the heel and toe. This dual control makes more moves on the drum 28 available for patterning purposes.

The invention has been described as applied to a needle picking operation. It is to be understood that it is equally applicable to mechanisms for picking jacks and other similar devices.

We claim:

1. In or for a circular, independent needle, knitting machine a needle picking assembly which includes a movable needle pick having a shank, a guard for controlling the direction of movement of said pick, and an anti-friction device between said shank and said guard.

2. In or for a circular, independent needle, knitting machine a needle picking assembly which includes a movable needle pick having a shank, a guard for controlling the direction of movement of said pick, and a roller bearing between said shank and said guard.

3. In or for a circular, independent needle, knitting machine a needle picking assembly which includes a movable needle pick having a. needle picking head and a shaft, a pivot in said shaft about which said pick is moved,

7 a bearing member on said shaft between said pivot and said needle picking head, a directional guard engageable with said bearing member, spring means for urging said pick toward said guard, a counterbalance extension on said shaft on the opposite side of said pivot from said picking head and bearing, and means engageable with said counterbalance extension for moving said pick.

Houseman Apr. 1, 1941' Booton et al Jan. 27, 1942 

